>> his body is frail. pope benedict celebrates ash wednesday mass. today the rubble in syria reveals surprises. president obama goes out on the road. how much can he achieve? welcome to our viewers. pope benedict issued a stern warning. at ash wednesday, the pontiff was interrupted repeatedly by

applause. and it will step down at the end of february. >> on ash wednesday catholics remember the body is mortal. this is the last mass he will celebrate as pope. they had to remove the service from a much smaller church in rome. a measure of how deeply this has moved to the faithful. whatever he says will carry enormous symbolic significance.

it will be a kind of legacy statement. will this influence retire with him? he will live inside this former monastery. is there a danger his presence will undermine the credibility or legitimacy of his successor? will there be two popes in the vatican. this morning crowds gathered for the usual wednesday audience, among them a party of schoolchildren. >> it is quite an honor, especially since one of the last coverings. it is quite special to be here. >> it was once said the pope lack charisma. nobody says it now. hock has given way to a boisterous and affection. he said this was for the good of

the church, but the modern world move rapidly. >> i am well aware of the gravity of such an act. of the same time i am aware of not being able to carry out my ministry with the physical and spiritual strength now required. >> in saying explicitly i am too old to carry on, is he also saying implicitly, in place of me, choose someone young and vigorous? today they came to pay homage to an old man who does something bold and selfless and braves. >> pope benedict spoke more about the activities. our guest joins us. talking about his age and age of

his successor and divisions within the catholic church and the leadership, were you surprised he tackled these issues today? >> it is fascinating, but divisions in the church have been something he has been concerned about, and it became leaks.orse during the wikilea only were their divisions in the church but in the bureaucracy. >> everything he says over the next two weeks is going to be listened to very carefully? >> are much so. i think he is going to be careful to make sure not to say something that is interfering with the selection process. he has already appointed more than half the cardinals who are going to elect a successor -- he has already had a big say in who will be his successor.

he picked people who agree with him on the issues facing the church. the person who gets elected is going to be someone they like. >> there really is not much in recent history, a practical president for having a former living coke. how much complication did it cause? >> this is going to be fun to watch. there is no room for two posts. when he resigns, he is no longer the pope. he has no power. t --s the so-called benedic is he still called and a deck? >> he should not -- called benedict? >> he should not be called the pope. he is a cardinal. currency is living inside the walls of the vatican he was a

poke. it is a slightly tricky situation. >> i think this is something people would be concerned about. if he started speaking and writing, you folks in the media will immediately grab what he says and say, this seems to be different from what the new pope is saying. we do not need that kind of thing, so he is going to have to be very careful. >> i cannot believe you are casting aspersion. we are just reporting the news. you think he is also saying it is time for somebody younger? >> that is an interesting point. by resigning, he has broken down a barrier. he has set a precedent. he resigned because of health. what about the next pope? did you resign because he reached the age of 80? if so, you could a like a younger man, because you do not have to wait for him to die.

he could resign. >> thank you for coming to explain to us. thanks for coming in. a charred body is all that now remains of one of the biggest man hunts in the state history. investigators are examining the body to determine whether it is the body of christopher dorner. >> this was the moment when america's most wanted man was cornered in a high mountain lodge after a week on the run. dorner been hiding and the church and rigid the search went on around him. -- had been hiding and and when the search went on around him. police opened fire. two sheriff's deputies were shot. one was killed. one was injured. the swat team moved in.

the building caught fire and was soon engulfed in flames. nobody emerged from the burning building. hours later, charred human remains were found. he has not been formally identified, but the manhunt is over. >> the lapd has moved back to a normal state of the police operation. that began late last night, and we will continue now. >> for a week people in a bear have been on high alert. they welcomed the news. >> we are relieved our residents are safe. arcturus are safe. we're also concerned about the tourists are safe. he killed four people in his shooting rampage because he was fired from his job five years

ago. paranoia has spread across california the longer this psittacine was on the loose, but it all happened in this region a longer at this man was on the loose, but it all happened here. >> the european union has called on all member states to carry out dna tests on the and products to check for horse meat. norway has become the latest country affected. ministers linked -- of the countries linked to the worst we scandal have been meeting for crisis talks in brussels. fighting broke out around damascus as government forces tried to retake control of areas but had fallen to rebel fighters. they are the latest battles in the civil war that has already taken 60,000 lives. one of the most pivotal moment came when the district fell to opponents of president assad.

our president was there during the shelling, and tonight he has this report. >> deserted and destroyed. it is hard to a mansion this once symbolized the hopes of cirio's revolution. -- to imagine this once symbolized the hopes of syria across revolution. >> it was changing. on the revolution. it makes people think more. >> he was an activist. >> people understand this regime will never go on in a peaceful way. >> it was a one-sided battle. we watch the bombardment the rebels were powerless to stop, and most of the victims were

civilians. the defense was led by the captain. they are killing civilians because they cannot get to us, he told me. later, he, too was killed by a shell. his parents are refugees. they spoke to me about the day their son decided to join the rebels. we tried to delay it, hoping things might be resolved, said his father, but he could not take any more what was being done to our people. we have paid a higher price for freedom. freedom does not come cheap. hundreds of thousands of refugees are living in neighboring countries in a miserable conditions. some wonder if it has all been

worth it. when the shelling happened common and everybody was convinced -- when the shelling happened, and everybody was convinced it would not be long. >> whole world watched while we were butchered, he says. we did not expect much from the international community any longer. now we put our faith in god and the free syrian army. they have to steal out at night to bury their dead. no western intervention followed as they had hoped. instead it became a rallying cry. thousands joined the uprising. >> a miserable situation for people who left homs.

still to come, another royal dustup over the duchess of cambridge being photographed. this time is a picture of her in a bikini causing a stir. now to the unique assignments for finding the proper tool for a king. after locating the remains in a car park, there is a task they are faced with. >> richard iii's body lay awkwardly in a trap graves. his hands may have been bound. the statue will be crafted of white stone. a royal coat of arms and his personal emblem.

>> we see the person, not just the king of england. >> richard iii died in august of 1485. he was killed by a series of blows to the head. some hope richard would be returned to york, but he will be reburied here in the cathedral. leicester cathedrals as the tomb must also be appropriate for a day of worship. >> we have seen this when people look back in 500 years, it needs to resonate with 2014 and the discovery of those under the car

park. >> under coming months, all concerned will be using modern diplomacy to ensure this medieval monarchs is finally laid to rest. >> last night was the speech. the day after the state of the union address, the president now hoped to press his case for the policies. his agenda got applause from democrats and criticism from republicans. our north american editor has this report. >> he does not stop campaigning because the election is over. he visited to urge people to get behind the plans and now he announced in congress. he needs all the friends he can

get. the broad grin vanished as he lectured them. no more peering over the fiscal cliff. >> let's work to pass a budget and replaces reckless cuts with smart savings and wise investment in our future, and let's do it without what scares off investors. the greatest nation interest cannot protect its business are drifting from one crisis to the next. >> he said he wanted to rebuild the economy for the middle classes, raise minimum wage, fight climate change, how illegal immigrants, and rain in the gun culture. >> they deserved a vote.

gabby giffords deserves a vote. the families of newtown deserved a vote. the families of our red deserved a vote. -- of aurora deserve a vote. the president's constant refrain underlines his weakness , who is because some republicans think his plans will come to nought and most want to oppose him. marco rubio was uncompromising but wants to change his party's image. >> i still live in the same working-class neighborhood. they are workers who have to get up early tomorrow morning to pay the bills. >> the president must make some

republicans see compromise as a central part of that. >> it has been described as an aggressive state of the agenda. >> very few ideas were actually knew. i think what made it seem so aggressive is the president's declaration he was no longer going to allow a single-minded focus on the deficit to drive everything else. the deficit will become one of a number of concerns. he was going to say he is no longer going to have these

arguments. >> i think it is right if you polled americans individually on things like more education for young children, investment in roads and bridges, immigration reform, americans would say they do support those things. >> they do support a particular, but at the same time they will tell you they are worried about excessive spending. that is one of the problems with americans. all of these are proposals -- one reason you put these in the state of the union address is at a poll well. >> i suspect they do not like the deficits but go with them.

>> good things are not going to just get it done. he wants to raise minimum wage to $9 an hour. there is a question of how much he is going to fight for this. there will be some legislation on immigration reform. >> there are very few individual clients. was there anything from last night we will be talking about in 10 years' time.

they say they deserved a vote. i do not think there was any kind of tag line. the state of the union address was just a list of priorities. there is something that gets messed up in there. there was the famous confrontation a couple years ago between obama and members of the supreme court when george bush made a blunder when he talked about yellowcake and evidence of weapons of mass destruction, so the first thing the president hope for in the state of the union address was to do no harm. >> is this an important address? >> this does not usually change the dynamic.

now to the latest controversy regarding the royal family and photographs. an italian magazine has printed photos of the pregnant duchess of cambridge wearing a bikini on holiday. st. james policy called it a breach of the right to privacy, but the editor denies that, saying it was a public beach. >> this was one of only two official engagements carried out since december. there is this made the photos of them on the beach are being published. -- there is dismay the photos

are being published. they publish a picture. >> if you want to free and go on a yacht, you are risking your so-called privacy. >> in the u.k., the idb program has apologized to the palace after showing the on pixilated -- unpixilated photos.

they rba printed in austin -- they are being published in australia. they say the photos were not taken by the paparazzi. >> those issues of privacy and public access are only going to get more intense. that brings the program to a close. you are watching bbc news. to reach the team, you can find me at twitter. thanks so much for watching. we will see you tomorrow. is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york,

stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. union bank. fidelity investments. and sony pictures classics, now presenting "amour." >> your personal economy is made up of the things that matteras those things change, fidelity are invested, and refocus as wherever you are today, a fidelity ira has a wide range of investment choices that can fit your personal economy. fidelity investments, turn here. ♪ >> "amour" rated pg-13, playing in theaters.

>> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet in los angeles.

captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> woodruff: president obama pushed for a hike in the minimum wage as he toured a north carolina factory, one part of the second term agenda he laid out last night in his state of the union address. good evening, i'm judy woodruff. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. on the "newshour" tonight, we assess the merits of the

president's plan to increase prosperity for working class americans. >> woodruff: then, we get the latest on the fiery end to the manhunt for a former los angeles police officer and the investigation into homicides he's accused of committing. >> brown: we take a second look at a story about programs in chicago targeting high-risk, low-income students long before they get to kindergarten. >> i don't think we understood how much of a barrier deep, deep poverty is in terms of engaging families and creating opportunities for children. >> woodruff: and margaret warner examines the calls for action on immigration reform, coming from both sides of capitol hill. >> woodruff: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: